Angkor Bullet Jewellery

From horror comes resilience, strength and incredible beauty

Angkor Bullet Jewellery is a group of home-based artisans who reside in a small community around 30 minutes from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

At the centre of the group there is a special man, an artisan jeweler, M. Chantha Theoun. M. Thoeun produces unique jewellery pieces that have been fashioned from recycled brass meltdown from empty bullet cartridges or shells.

This Social Enterprise is committed to the personal development of their home based workers as individuals in an economic, social and spiritual sense. The artisans are given employment with fair wages, a safe work environment and education for their families.

M. Thouen tells his story

I was born in Pursat province, I don’t have any siblings, my mother died when I was 4 years old, and my father was killed when I was 8 years old by a notorious Khmer Rouge soldier. It was a terrible time for me. I was only a young child and didn’t realize my father was dead. I begged him to wake up.

I then went to live with my grandparents, and I was helped and supported by the Skip Organization and this allowed me to continue my studies in Phnom Penh. I started learning jewelry making from the age of 14 years at the Skip Organization (orphanage center). I learned for nearly 4 years in the jewelry section.

I got married in 2009 to my wife Thearny Kol. My wife can make jewellery and sews as well eco-friendly bags. We have a daughter, her name is Rozannara Chantha. She is 6 years old. She goes to school Monday till Friday. We just had a second child (son), Moss is nearly 3 years old now.

Angkor Bullet Jewellery is a member of Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC) which is member of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO):

[product_attribute attribute=’marque’ filter=’angkor-bullet-jewellery’]